Category: Philippine Star

Who’s afraid of ADHD?

Well, perhaps me, a little bit. This era of phones and screens and sound bites and instant gratification has made me one heck of an impatient customer. Trust me to imagine a dozen ways for service staff to serve faster. I simply cannot wait – and now I fear I’m being led down this irreversible course of irate customer-hood because of ADHD.

But wait, is that ADHD in truth?

Or perhaps, it’s the troubling incidents where I’m less likely to finish tasks. I open the phone, intending entirely to do something, and then I see a notification or an advert, and I chase the rabbit until I am irreversibly lost. As in, I forget why I even picked up my phone to begin with. Is that ADHD? Or simply aging?

Perhaps it’s time to call in the pros. An organization that tackles ADHD head on. One that has been doing precisely this for the past 25 years. And oh –this month is their month, with a national conference slated to be held in Pasig, and to be opened by no less than mayor extraordinaire Vico Sotto.

That’s the AD/HD Society in the Philippines, an all-volunteer non-profit NGO that has done many wonderful things (or so I am assured) for not just persons with ADHD, but also their families. And their professional teams. And other advocates. So much so that in 2015, former president Benigno S. Aquino (remember him? that fantastic leader who wasn’t corrupt?) conferred accolades on the group during the Apolinario Mabini Awards.

Conference chairman Jojo Villaereal-Nepomuceno proclaims ‘ADHD is commonly viewed as a challenge. This year, we want to spotlight the silver linings-the strengths, energy, and innovative spirit that individuals with ADHD bring to families, classrooms, and communities.’ And if I were naughty, I would hazard the guess that the ‘silver lining’ theme comes from the fact that this is their 25th year.

So perhaps, I need this group. According to my reliable research tool, a.k.a. Google, excessive screen time can exponentially increase the risk of developing symptoms of ADHD, or actually worsen the symptoms. Harvard says so, Oxford says so, and the American Medical Association says so, more or less.

The conference slated on the 18th (with Mayor Vico, don’t forget) will feature success stories (we love them) and expert panels, especially as it relates to education and mental health.

One area which they probably have been hammering home since the beginning: the myths. Those commonly-held misconceptions that we carry with us, branding kids who may have ADHD, and perhaps, harming them without us even realizing it.

Myths like, only boys get ADHD. Well, girls could be operating under that same disability. And since regular folks might think girls don’t carry this burden, they don’t get the proper diagnosis and treatment for it, since their symptoms are quieter. Girls daydream and are disorganized, while boys manifest by becoming disruptive.

Or a myth like, people with ADHD can’t focus. They can –they just like focusing on more exciting things than the everyday humdrum stuff. They hyperfocus –which is why the focus of their attention needs to be managed.

Or maybe even, the myth that we just need to encourage those with ADHD to try harder, and things will work out fine. It’s just willpower, after all. That myth might be more insidious, as ‘just trying harder’ might not be the solution, but expert care is.

All of these myths can be tackled in greater detail through the auspices of this fantastic society, and perhaps, during the national conference. As usual, private initiative has trumped government efforts, and we need to recognize the many individuals who have contributed in many different ways to the greater good. That’s the motivation behind the non-political column today, although the good mayor of Pasig still managed to sneak in.

One myth that’s disappointing –ADHD is just trendy.

It’s not? Maybe I don’t have ADHD after all.

A student leader from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) denied having a hand in the violent riots that erupted in Mendiola and surrounding areas in Manila during the anti-corruption rallies on Sept. 21.

In a letter to Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II, acting Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director, Jacob Baluyot told the CIDG that he ‘attended the anti-corruption assemblies in Luneta and Mendiola in my capacity as a campus journalist to cover the event for reportage.’

Baluyot is a junior journalism student and associate editor of PUP’s student publication The Catalyst. He is also the national chairperson of the Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag ng PUP.

He said he received a subpoena from the CIDG, which identified him as ‘one of the leaders of the organizations involved in the violent incident during the Trillion Peso March’ on Sept. 21.

‘I categorically and strongly deny this allegation. I have no involvement in any of the alleged violent incident,’ Baluyot said.

He also chose not to attend the CIDG investigation, invoking his right to ‘remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel’ as well as his ‘right against self-incrimination, right to due process of law and rights as a member of the press.’

‘Upon legal advice, I must respectfully decline to participate in these proceedings to protect my rights as guaranteed under the Constitution and applicable laws,’ Baluyot said.

He appealed for understanding, adding that his ‘non-appearance is not intended to disrespect the authority or processes of the CIDG.’

The Las Vegas Aces, powered by 31 points from A’ja Wilson, captured their third title in four seasons on Friday, beating Phoenix 97-86 to complete a sweep of the WNBA Finals.

Wilson went 7-of-21 from the floor but 17-of-19 from the free throw line as the visiting Aces took the best-of-seven series 4-0.

‘We understood the assignment and what was in front of us,’ Wilson said. ‘All we had to do was believe in one another and you see that. We’re grateful.’

Jefre’s latest collaboration standing tall in Taguig represents his passion for growth and creativity.

The Filipino-American artist unveiled ‘Curious Icons’ at The Palace in Taguig.

The metallic scupture is a gentleman in a suit with a head that bears the logo of the smoke-free alternative brand IQOS.

‘Tonight we celebrate power, pleasure, and endless journey of curiosity,’ Jefre told the crowd who attended its unveiling last September 26.

The artist shared the inspiration behind his latest creation.

‘It all started with the logo, which in my mind is the key to curiosity – the idea that there is a window in the key that represents opportunity and growth and creativity, inspiration,’ Jefre said in an interview.

Henry Yap, IQOS brand manager, shared that they chose Jefre as collaborator because both have the same passion for ‘pushing boundaries and building something iconic.’

Jefre is known for his gigantic metallic icons located in some of the known destinations in the capital region. These include ‘Time,’ the huge sculpture in front of SM Megamall visible to MRT passengers, and ‘The Victor,’ the 60-meter metal scupture located at Bridgetowne in Pasig City.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has formally taken over the titular diocese of Albano.

Tagle formally took possession of the suburbicarian diocese through a Mass at the Albano Cathedral on Saturday, October 11.

The suburbicarian diocese of Albano, one of the seven historic ecclesiastical territories surrounding Rome, has traditionally been reserved for the highest-ranking officials in the Church’s College of Cardinals.

Even when a cardinal is granted this honorary title, the diocese maintains its autonomy, continuing to operate with its own resident bishop and administrative structure.

The diocese was formerly held by Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. He was scheduled to take possession on May 10; however, he was elected pontiff on May 8.

Tagle, who is also the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, was appointed to the position on May 24 by Pope Leo XIV.

In 2020, Pope Francis elevated Cardinal Tagle to the high rank of cardinal bishop, placing him in the Church’s most senior order.

However, Tagle retained his original titular church, San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle, because there were no suburbicarian dioceses available at that time for assignment.

The suburbicarian diocese of Albano, one of the seven historic ecclesiastical territories surrounding Rome, has traditionally been reserved for the highest-ranking officials in the Church’s College of Cardinals.

The other suburbicarian dioceses are Ostia, Velletri-Segni, Porto-Santa Rufina, Frascati, Palestrina and Sabina-Poggio Mirteto.

Even when a cardinal is granted this honorary title, the diocese maintains its autonomy, continuing to operate with its own resident bishop and administrative structure.

The government’s current debt and rising interest payments are taking up a significant portion of public resources, with the state think tank warning that any further deficit spending could worsen the situation and put at risk long-term fiscal sustainability.

In its latest discussion paper, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) cautioned that multiple risks could threaten the generally positive outlook in the near and medium-term.

‘Slower-than-expected economic growth due to inflation-induced demand contractions, supply side disruptions, or global economic headwinds may weaken revenue performance and push the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio higher,’ the report read.

Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee lowered this year’s GDP growth target to a range of 5.5 to 6.5 percent from the original target of six to eight percent.

Despite the global economic strains, Finance Assistant Secretary Neil Adrian Cabiles said the country is experiencing slower-than-expected growth, but remained confident the economy is on track with its fiscal targets.

CPBRD said maintaining a balanced short-term debt share is crucial for preserving fiscal flexibility and reducing the government’s exposure to external shocks that could destabilize the economy.

According to its report, short-term debt share increased by one percent in 2024 from 0.6 percent in 2023.

Daniella Uy returns to familiar territory this week, hoping to rekindle the magic that brought her a memorable two-shot triumph at the ICTSI Del Monte Championship two years ago.

With both course familiarity and a championship pedigree on her side, the Taiwan tour campaigner is not just looking to score a repeat beginning Tuesday, October 14 – she’s also determined to redeem herself from a disappointing finish in the last leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Coming off a strong third-place finish in Bacolod, Uy had entered the Negros Occidental stop with momentum and high expectations. But a jittery opening-round 74 stalled her title push early. Though she recovered with a solid 70 in the second round, another 74 in the final round saw her settle for sixth – a result that fell short of her own standards.

Now back at Del Monte Golf Club, where her precision and poise previously earned her the top prize in 2023, Uy is out to rediscover her best form. However, the road to another victory promises to be steep, as a formidable field packed with proven winners and in-form challengers stands in her way.

Leading that charge is Florence Bisera, who has emerged as one of the hottest players on tour. After a come-from-behind victory at Marapara, Bisera took her winning ways abroad, clinching a breakthrough win at the Thai LPGA Masters last month. With her confidence at an all-time high, the Davaoeña ace looms as the biggest threat to Uy’s repeat bid.

Adding to the intensity are Mafy Singson and Chanelle Avaricio – both former LPGT leg champions hungry to bounce back from sub-par showings in Negros. Their experience, firepower and hunger for redemption all but guarantee a tightly contested battle at the mountain-top layout.

The P1-million event, organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., also sees a strong showing from Mindanao-based talents. Martina Miñoza, Velinda Castil, Pamela Mariano and amateur standout Zero Plete aim to cash in on their local knowledge in pursuit of a breakthrough performance. Their familiarity with the elevation changes and tight fairways of Del Monte could prove to be a key advantage.

The tournament, a 54-hole test of shot-making and mental resilience, also kicks off a three-tournament Mindanao swing. With Order of Merit points up for grabs, frontrunners are eager to strengthen their positions ahead of the season-ending Match Play Championship next month at The Country Club.

Following Del Monte, the tour heads to the Apo Golf Classic in Davao from October 21-24, then to South Pacific Golf and Residential Estates from October 28-31 for the final leg of the swing.

Also in the title hunt are former leg winners Sarah Ababa, Chihiro Ikeda and Harmie Constantino – all of whom are looking to rebound from recent lackluster performances.

Marvi Monsalve, on the other hand, returns to LPGT action and seeks to make her comeback count with a strong showing.

Tiffany Lee, still searching for the form she flashed during a promising pro debut at Splendido Taal last year, will look to end her run of inconsistent results with a breakthrough performance. Meanwhile, a determined group of dark horses, including Kayla Nocum, Angela Mangana, Leslie Icoy, Rev Alcantara, Gretchen Villacencio, Apple Fudolin, Kristine Fleetwood, Korean hopeful Eunhua Nam and veteran Eva Miñoza, round out a deep and competitive field, each seeking to make their mark over the three-day event.

For Uy, the mission is clear: tap into her winning formula at Del Monte, block out the distractions, and rise above one of the strongest fields of the season. With a point to prove and a title to defend, all eyes will be on whether she can summon the composure and consistency that once made her queen of this course.

Last week, the saint of the Senate, the ambassador of Jesus Christ and all things compassionate, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, called for a snap election and the mass resignation of all government officials, from the President all the way down to legislators, to purify the land of the sins of corruption.

How radical of him, right? If we didn’t know any better, we would have mistaken him for a revolutionary who wants to smash the system. But let’s not delude ourselves. Alan Peter is the poster boy of political dynasties, not of social change. He sits in the Senate together with his sister, while his wife conveniently runs Taguig. His political dynasty embodies the very decay that he now pretends to cure.

Just like the snap election called by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, Cayetano’s ‘national reset’ has nothing to do with purging corruption, but a mere resetting of the scoreboard for the same old players. Back then, Marcos wanted to cling to power through a rigged election. Today, Cayetano wants to cleanse himself and his fellow dynasts with the holy water of a ‘fresh mandate.’

Yes, he said that incumbent officials, himself included, should be barred from running for one election cycle. But come on, do we still believe anything this man says? This is the same guy who agreed to share the House speakership with Representative Lord Allan Velasco, only to cling to the Speaker’s chair when his time was up. Only when the House majority overwhelmingly rejected him did he embarrassingly vacate the post.

Alan Peter’s call for a snap election is less about eliminating the corruption and more about tainting everyone with it. He wants to turn corruption into ‘a shared sin.’ The trick is simple. If everybody is corrupt, then no one is corrupt. If everybody is guilty, no one goes to jail. Nobody could demand transparency and accountability because we are ‘collectively guilty.’ This narrative is not only an attempt at evasion, but a way of convincing the public that corruption is inevitable, that everyone is tainted.

It’s no coincidence that Cayetano’s call came just as Senators Ping Lacson and Risa Hontiveros, two of the Senate’s most consistent anti-corruption crusaders, were being smeared. The corrupt are desperate, and they are trying to drag everyone into the mud. But the difference is glaring. Senators Ping and Risa have spent decades fighting corruption. In contrast, those implicated in the corruption scandal have spent their whole political careers trying to perfect it, their reputations reading like criminal rap sheets.

It’s also no surprise that Cayetano’s snap election call came right after his rumored Senate coup fizzled out. No less than Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) warned against any leadership change meant to stage a cover-up. Of course, Cayetano denied there was ever a coup attempt. Why admit to an embarrassing flop? Not once, but twice! It’s like someone who dreams of becoming the company president but gets ignored for the promotion and, out of bitterness, calls for a mass layoff instead.

Even his brother, former Taguig mayor Lino Cayetano, couldn’t stomach the hypocrisy. Lino dared him to resign first and lead by example. He even said the Senate and Taguig would both be better off without any Cayetanos. Now that’s a reset the whole country can get behind.

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio also frowned on Cayetano’s idea, calling it destabilizing and patently unconstitutional. This is where his farcical antics turn dangerous. While ridiculous, his call is populist and seductive. It tries to weaponize the public’s frustration with politics and redirects it towards an undemocratic political project. It easily fits the script of military adventurists and power-hungry opportunists, who are either in favor of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte or paving the way for a military junta. Reports that the country came close to a military takeover last Sept. 21 should remind us how fragile and complex the current situation is. One misstep, one small indulgence in this kind of populism, and we could easily slip into the waiting arms of the fascist right.

Cardinal David, ever grounded in the people’s pulse, knows this well. He urged the people to continue expressing their outrage against corruption within the bounds of the Constitution and warned against those who would take advantage of the people’s anger. Quoting the Bible, he reminded us to be ‘as innocent as doves, but wise as serpents.’

And he’s right. Our fight is a long struggle for democracy, one that has required, at certain times, leaps into the extra-constitutional, such as the February 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled the dictator Marcos, and EDSA Dos, which ended the corrupt Estrada government. But these moments were not the creations of political dynasties and generals. They were organic eruptions of the people’s collective will, a coming together of ripe conditions and a people prepared for action. This is what separates real People Power from a power grab.

The choice of whether to wage that battle against corruption within the Constitution or beyond belongs to the sovereign people, not the Alan Peters of this world, the Dutertes, the plunderers, or the political opportunists, who mask their narrow interests as salvation.

Right now, our task is to read the conditions correctly, apply the appropriate tactics and shield the people’s movement against corruption from hijacking. The corrupt will try to speak the language of change to confuse us. The challenge is to ensure that our anger does not become the fuel for another cycle of dynastic rule.

ARQ Stable stalwart April Jay Astroboy Abne faces another tough test in his fistic career as he trades blows with the world-ranked Jesse Little Giant Espinas for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Asia flyweight crown in the main event of Bugbugan sa Abra:Tapatan ng Kampeon fight card presented by Solid North Sports Promotions today (Sunday, October 12) at the University of Abra s Gov. Andres B. Bernos Memorial Gymnasium in Bangued.

Abne will see action for the first time in seven months. He hasn t fought since fighting to a majority draw with Anthony Gilbuela last March 8 in Cawayan, Masbate.

The 26-year-old brawler from Manticao, Misamis Oriental hopes to shake off the rust he may have had from his long layoff as he shoots for his second regional belt. He once reigned as the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) Silver flyweight champion back in 2023.

Abne holds a 15-1-1 win-loss-draw record with six knockouts, while the Ozamiz City-native Espinas sports a 24-7 card with 14KOs.

It s an uphill battle ahead for Abne against the World Boxing Organization No.7 contender Espinas, who once held the WBC Asia super flyweight, WBO Oriental light flyweight, OPBF light flyweight, and ABF minimumweight titles.

The rest of the slam-bang show backstopped by Abra Lone District Rep. Joseph Sto. Ni o JB Bernos features Romer Pinili vs Eduardo Mancito, Bimboy Ibunes vs Raymond Bangquiao, Editho Embrado vs Gian Villanueva, and Rolymhar Napase vs Mark Anthony Agbay.

Aboitiz Upgrade Solar Inc. (AUSI) is putting up a 5.65-megawatt-peak (MWp) rooftop solar system for the Philippine unit of Japanese electronics firm TDK Corp.

AUSI, a joint venture between Aboitiz Power Distributed Renewables Inc. and Upgrade Energy Philippines (UGEP), recently secured a deal to power TDK Philippines Corp. (TPC)’s two manufacturing facilities in Laguna.

With over 9,000 solar panels, the project is expected to generate around eight million kilowatt-hours of clean power annually.

‘Through this collaboration with TPC, we are proving that rooftop solar solutions can deliver both environmental responsibility and business performance to critical industries at scale,’ UGEP COO Pieterjan Vanbuggenhout said.

Headquartered in Tokyo, TDK manufactures electronic materials and components, with its Philippine facilities supplying critical parts across industries worldwide.

‘By integrating renewable energy into our operations, we are taking concrete steps to reduce our carbon footprint, enhance energy efficiency and contribute to a cleaner energy future for the Philippines,’ TPC president and CEO Masatoshi Shindoh said.

‘This also drives innovation in materials, processes and software technologies that advance the transition to a sustainable future,’ he said.

Backed by Aboitiz Power Corp., AUSI is engaged in the development and operation of distributed solar solutions for large commercial and industrial consumers.

The company recently partnered with Alphaland Corp. for a 4.1-MWp ground-mounted solar farm equipped with a 5.5-MW-hour battery storage component on Balesin Island.

Upon completion, the facility is poised to supply 60 percent of the island’s total energy demand.